Leadership Practices of Head Nurses as Expected and Perceived by Staff Nurses in Public Hospitals in Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract

Purposes: This study aimed to identify the levels of leadership practices among head nurses as expected and perceived by staff nurses and to compare the differences between expectation and perception of staff nurses toward leadership practices of head nurses in public hospitals of Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Method: This descriptive comparative study was conducted in three public hospitals in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Proportional random sampling was used to recruit 290 staff nurses. The data collection instruments were: the Demographic Data Questionnaire (DDQ) and the Head Nurses’ Leadership Practices Questionnaire (HNLPQ) developed by the researchers based on Kouzes and Posner's concept of leadership practices (2007).

Results: The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test. The results showed that the mean score of staff nurses’ expectation of head nurses’ leadership practices was at a high level (M = 4.64, SD = 0.34). The mean score of staff nurses’ perception of head nurses’ leadership practices was at a moderate level (M = 3.16, SD = 0.40).The mean rank of staff nurses’ expectation was statistically significant higher than the mean rank of perception (Mean rank = 7.93, Z = -14.83, p < .001).

Conclusion: This study identified the gap between expectation and perception of staff nurses toward head nurses’ leadership practices. The results of the study will serve as essential information for public hospitals in Indonesia to improve leadership practices of head nurses which may result in higher quality of nursing services to patients.